Poughkeepsie -- A three-alarm fire left forty residents displaced from their homes. A factor in the fire growth is the lack of fire hydrants. It took ten extra minutes for firefighters to find a water source.

Ten units in the building were destroyed as residents watched with tears in their eyes. Residents in eleven other units were displaced temporarily until the damage to their units could be fixed.

Tyrone Harrison woke up to smoke filling his condo. The front entrance was blocked by flames, so he escaped through his patio. He left everything behind.

"There was so much smoke, I couldn't see my hand. I tried not to panic, but when you leave your wallet and phone behind, you're panicked," said Harrison.

Maeder said the blaze caused a significant amount of damage and broke through the roof in three to four sections. Luckily, it was controlled with minimal damage to the other sections.

One firefighter had minor injuries, but no residents were injured.

Water for the complex is on the Town of Poughkeepsie water system, but the connection was not sufficient enough to fight the fire.

"It's not a system designed or constructed to provide fire flow," said Barclay.